DALLAS -- — Luka Doncic scored 45 points in his first game in Dallas since being traded to the Los Angeles, helping the Lakers wrap up a playoff spot with a 112-97 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Doncic's emotional return came two months after a seismic trade out of nowhere that sent the five-time All-Star to Los Angeles. The 26-year-old star from Slovenia spent his first 5 1/2 seasons with the Mavericks, and still had two seasons left on his contract.

The 45 points matched Doncic's season high — he did that once for Dallas and one other time for the Lakers. He also had eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.

LeBron James had 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers fell behind before a strong finish.

Anthony Davis, who went from the Lakers to Dallas in the Doncic heal, had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Naji Marshall led the Mavs with 23 points and eight assists.

Takeaways

The Lakers remained third in the Western Conference standings after their third game in four days. They came to Dallas after splitting a pair of games at Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City.

Dallas (38-42) is guaranteed a losing record a year after making the NBA Finals. The Mavs are still in position to finish 10th and make the play-in tournament.

Key moment

James's three-point play with 8:10 left broke an 87-all tie and put the Lakers ahead to stay, and he added a layup 34 seconds later. That came after Dallas' 15-2 run.

Key stat

James' 1,561st career regular-season game moved him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for sole possession of second place on the NBA list. Only Robert Parrish with 1,611 has more than the 40-year-old James. It was his 418th game in seven seasons with the Lakers, after 849 games with Cleveland and 294 with Miami.

Up next

Both teams play their regular-season home finales Friday night, when the Mavericks take on Toronto, and the Lakers host Houston.

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Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Jaxson Hayes vs. Dereck Lively II (LeBron James gains possession)	0	0
11:56	P.J. Washington shooting foul	0	0
11:56	LeBron James makes free throw 1 of 2	0	1
11:56	LeBron James makes free throw 2 of 2	0	2
11:40	Anthony Davis misses 18-foot step back jumpshot	0	2
11:37	Austin Reaves defensive rebound	0	2
11:31	LeBron James bad pass (P.J. Washington steals)	0	2
11:26	Naji Marshall misses 23-foot three point shot	0	2
11:25	Lakers defensive team rebound	0	2
11:05	Luka Doncic bad pass (Dereck Lively II steals)	0	2
11:01	Dereck Lively II makes 1-foot dunk (Naji Marshall assists)	2	2
10:40	Luka Doncic makes 10-foot two point shot	2	4
10:19	P.J. Washington bad pass (Jaxson Hayes steals)	2	4
9:57	Austin Reaves misses 24-foot three point shot	2	4
9:57	Lakers offensive team rebound	2	4
9:57	shot clock turnover	2	4
9:42	Naji Marshall makes driving layup	4	4
9:24	Luka Doncic misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	4	4
9:21	Naji Marshall defensive rebound	4	4
9:18	Klay Thompson makes 23-foot three point shot (Naji Marshall assists)	7	4
9:07	Luka Doncic misses driving floating jump shot	7	4
9:05	Jaxson Hayes offensive rebound	7	4
9:05	Jaxson Hayes misses tip shot	7	4
9:04	Jaxson Hayes offensive rebound	7	4
9:04	Anthony Davis blocks Jaxson Hayes's two point shot	7	4
9:04	P.J. Washington defensive rebound	7	4
8:57	Anthony Davis misses two point shot	7	4
8:55	Jaxson Hayes defensive rebound	7	4
8:51	Rui Hachimura misses two point shot	7	4
8:49	Klay Thompson defensive rebound	7	4
8:45	Klay Thompson misses running pullup jump shot	7	4
8:42	LeBron James defensive rebound	7	4
8:35	LeBron James misses driving layup	7	4
8:34	Jaxson Hayes offensive rebound	7	4
8:34	Naji Marshall shooting foul	7	4
8:34	Jaxson Hayes makes free throw 1 of 2	7	5
8:34	Spencer Dinwiddie enters the game for Naji Marshall	7	5
8:34	Jaxson Hayes misses free throw 2 of 2	7	5
8:32	Anthony Davis defensive rebound	7	5
8:11	P.J. Washington makes 22-foot three point jumper (Spencer Dinwiddie assists)	10	5
7:47	Jaxson Hayes makes 2-foot layup (LeBron James assists)	10	7
7:47	Dereck Lively II defensive goaltending violation	10	7
7:30	Dorian Finney-Smith enters the game for Jaxson Hayes	10	7
7:25	Dereck Lively II makes 6-foot driving floating jump shot (Klay Thompson assists)	12	7
7:14	Austin Reaves makes 1-foot two point shot	12	9
6:55	Dereck Lively II lost ball turnover (Luka Doncic steals)	12	9
6:51	Luka Doncic makes two point shot	12	11
6:44	Anthony Davis makes dunk (Spencer Dinwiddie assists)	14	11
6:26	Luka Doncic makes 22-foot three point jumper (Dorian Finney-Smith assists)	14	14
6:17	Spencer Dinwiddie makes 25-foot three pointer (Anthony Davis assists)	17	14
6:03	Rui Hachimura makes 22-foot three point jumper (Luka Doncic assists)	17	17
5:45	Dereck Lively II makes layup (P.J. Washington assists)	19	17
5:32	Dereck Lively II shooting foul	19	17
5:32	Mavericks Full timeout	19	17
5:32	Max Christie enters the game for Dereck Lively II	19	17
5:32	Caleb Martin enters the game for Klay Thompson	19	17
5:32	Gabe Vincent enters the game for LeBron James	19	17
5:32	Luka Doncic makes free throw 1 of 2	19	18
5:32	Luka Doncic misses free throw 2 of 2	19	18
5:30	P.J. Washington defensive rebound	19	18
5:14	Anthony Davis misses 11-foot two point shot	19	18
5:12	P.J. Washington offensive rebound	19	18
5:10	P.J. Washington misses two point shot	19	18
5:09	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	19	18
4:59	Luka Doncic makes 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	19	21
4:41	Max Christie makes driving layup (Caleb Martin assists)	21	21
4:18	Gabe Vincent misses 22-foot three point jumper	21	21
4:16	Spencer Dinwiddie defensive rebound	21	21
4:08	P.J. Washington misses 23-foot three point jumper	21	21
4:06	Lakers defensive team rebound	21	21
4:06	Naji Marshall enters the game for P.J. Washington	21	21
4:06	Jordan Goodwin enters the game for Austin Reaves	21	21
3:50	Luka Doncic misses 16-foot two point shot	21	21
3:45	Spencer Dinwiddie defensive rebound	21	21
3:37	Luka Doncic personal foul	21	21
3:37	Daniel Gafford enters the game for Anthony Davis	21	21
3:37	Jarred Vanderbilt enters the game for Rui Hachimura	21	21
3:29	Max Christie misses 23-foot three point jumper	21	21
3:26	Jarred Vanderbilt defensive rebound	21	21
3:07	Luka Doncic makes 23-foot three point jumper (Dorian Finney-Smith assists)	21	24
2:40	Naji Marshall makes 27-foot three point jumper (Caleb Martin assists)	24	24
2:29	Daniel Gafford blocks Jarred Vanderbilt 's 1-foot dunk	24	24
2:28	Caleb Martin defensive rebound	24	24
2:27	Caleb Martin bad pass (Jarred Vanderbilt steals)	24	24
2:26	Daniel Gafford blocks Jarred Vanderbilt 's 1-foot layup	24	24
2:25	Mavericks defensive team rebound	24	24
2:25	Lakers Full timeout	24	24
2:25	Jaxson Hayes enters the game for Dorian Finney-Smith	24	24
2:25	LeBron James enters the game for Jordan Goodwin	24	24
2:17	Max Christie misses 23-foot three point jumper	24	24
2:14	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	24	24
2:10	Luka Doncic misses running pullup jump shot	24	24
2:06	Daniel Gafford defensive rebound	24	24
1:53	Naji Marshall misses 15-foot pullup jump shot	24	24
1:51	Jarred Vanderbilt defensive rebound	24	24
1:37	Gabe Vincent misses 23-foot three point jumper	24	24
1:33	Spencer Dinwiddie defensive rebound	24	24
1:26	Jaxson Hayes shooting foul	24	24
1:26	Spencer Dinwiddie makes free throw 1 of 2	25	24
1:26	Austin Reaves enters the game for Luka Doncic	25	24
1:26	Spencer Dinwiddie makes free throw 2 of 2	26	24
1:17	Caleb Martin shooting foul	26	24
1:17	LeBron James makes free throw 1 of 2	26	25
1:17	LeBron James makes free throw 2 of 2	26	26
56.0	Max Christie misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	26	26
52.2	Naji Marshall offensive rebound	26	26
42.1	Naji Marshall makes 10-foot pullup jump shot (Max Christie assists)	28	26
32.1	Austin Reaves bad pass (Naji Marshall steals)	28	26
29.1	LeBron James shooting foul	28	26
29.1	Naji Marshall makes free throw 1 of 2	29	26
29.1	Naji Marshall makes free throw 2 of 2	30	26
14.0	LeBron James bad pass (Caleb Martin steals)	30	26
1.0	Naji Marshall misses two point shot	30	26
0.0	Mavericks offensive team rebound	30	26
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	30	26

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

American Airlines Center

Dallas, TX

Date & Time

11:30 PM, April 9, 2025

Coverage

ESPN, KFAA-TV, Spectrum Sports Net

Attendance

20,841

Referees

Jason Goldenberg, Jacyn Goble, Marc Davis

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	35	24	.593	W1
Phoenix	34	26	.567	W1
Golden State	31	29	.517	L1
LA Clippers	27	31	.466	L3
Sacramento	14	47	.230	W1

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

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Luka Doncic scores 45 points in Dallas return as Lakers clinch playoff spot with 112-97 win

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